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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

This working/travelling and blogging business... was it my idea? Oy with the lack of time and willpower already! The truth is that my limited me-time has been completely hogged by Ally McBeal, so blame my non-blogging on Ms. Flockhart and her weird dancing-baby. Blame it on Ally's Nick and Nora pajamas, or blame it on "The Biscuit's" whistling nose. Blame it on Netflix for adding all five seasons of the show to their streaming catalog. Anyway, bygones.

Back in August, I won an awesome giveaway courtesy of the one and only Ms. Alisa Fleming, queen of Go Dairy Free and Alisa Cooks. One of the cookbooks that I won was My Sweet Vegan by the sweetest vegan of them all, Hannah Kaminsky. Even though I didn't have a chance to try as many recipes as I intended before Mr. Wing-It and I hit the road, I still managed to make and photograph quite a few of Hannah's recipes. Between all the gorgeous full color pictures, the enticing and easy-to-follow recipes, and Hannah's beautiful personality that shines through her writing, I'm not at all surprised that this is such a popular and massively loved cookbook. One of my favorite things about My Sweet Vegan? It even has a recipe for a tasty little doggy cake!

Ooooh cupcake!

My mother in law's pup was the lucky recipient of the (evidently mesmerizing) Canine Cake. I teased him with it for a few minutes, because everything tastes even better after a good tease, and when he finally snatched it up he ran away with it and ate it before I could take a picture of him enjoying his treat. It must have been the best cake ever! Because Piggly Wiggly (that's his witness protection name) is so small, I made four chihuahua-sized cakies instead of making one muffin sized cake. He's such a tiny little pup!

Moving on to the human food. I made the Coffee Break Shortbread using Pero instead of coffee. It took about twice as much Pero than coffee because it's not nearly as strong as the real deal. I love shortbread, so I knew I would love this recipe as soon as I spotted it! They are crispy and flavorful, and there's no way you could just eat one... or two... or three... or elebenty...

I went with square cookies. Mr. Monk would approve.

The Pfoof... pfeef... fleffler... Pfeffernusse (phew!) were wonderfully spicy cookies that were awesome even though I managed to flatten them too much (you're not supposed to flatten them at all. Attention to detail *FAIL*)

They're so lovely!

These perfect-for-the-holidays spicy cookies are coated with powdered sugar, but whenever I make something that needs a good coating or sprinkling of powdered sugar, I have to leave a few naked ones because Mr. Wing-It never fails to choke on the stuff. True story! :P

*nom... cough cough*

Scones. I could eat scones every day and never get sick of them. I could eat Hannah's Chocolate-Glazed Peanut Butter Scones every day and never get sick of them! Crumbly peanutty goodness drizzled with soft gooey chocolate, anyone?

Oh yeah, they're good. I can't recommend these enough. Scones are supposed to be fairly dry by nature, so enjoy these little gems with some coffee or fauxfee or tea or whatever floats your boat.

I wish we were home so I could bake another batch!

Mmm, doughnuts. Hannah's Golden Glazed Doughnuts are the bomb! If you're brave enough to be around hot oil, then follow the recipe and fry them, but if you're a clumsy little oaf like me then you can definitely bake them. I baked mine at 425 degrees F for 11 minutes, in case you were wondering. They were delicious, and I did not miss the fried-factor at all. Fluffy, soft, sweet, sticky, I feel like writing them a naughty love song...

Homer approves!

As soon as I saw the recipe for Root Beer Float Cupcakes I knew I had to make them! I'm not a fan of root beer, but Mr. Wing-It is, so these were his special treat and he devoured them while he emitted *om nom nom nom* noises. I still loved them though. They were very mild because I didn't have any root beer extract.

I made the happy little cupcake toppers using vegan white chocolate
and a silicone chocolate mold courtesy of the BFF. No, you can't have her.

And now for the closing act, my favorite recipe, the cupcakes that will forever be on my list of mostest favoritest, the laziest self-frosting cupcakes ever... I give you... *dun dun duuuunnn*

Self-Frosting Peanut Butter Cupcakes! Oh my yum! So easy! So divine! So chocolaty! So peanutty! The cupcakes are soft and tender, and the chocolate frosting is hiding in there so nobody will see it coming. You frost them *before* you bake them. Brilliant! I'm pretty sure I messed up the recipe when I halved these because it made extra frosting, which turned out to be an *EPIC WIN*

In your stand mixer, combine the soymilk and vinegar, and let sit for a few minutes before whisking vigorously until frothy. Mix in both sugars. Grind the flax seeds into a powder with a spice grinder, and whiz them together with the water. Stir the flax seed mixture, peanut butter, applesauce, and vanilla into your mixer, and beat until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly stir these dry ingredients into the batter. Mix until there are no more lumps, but be careful not to mix more than necessary.

In a separate bowl combine all of the ingredients for the frosting, and blend until completely smooth. Set aside.

Divide your batter equally between the prepared muffin tins. Drop a dollop of frosting into each cup of raw batter, and swirl it around with a toothpick, covering the entire top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. When testing for doneness, be sure to find a spot that is free from frosting, as it may cause the toothpick to appear wet, even if the cupcakes are ready. Let the cupcakes cool inside the tins for at least 10 to 15 minutes. You can either let them cool the rest of the way atop a wire rack, or serve them immediately for a warm delight.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Do you have a copy of My Sweet Vegan? What's your favorite recipe? I tried to make the Orangettes, but trying to peel the oranges so neatly almost made me lose the will to live. But they look so good! Have you made them? Should I suck it up and power through the tedious orange-peeling?

21 comments:

Oh my gosh! I was on the fence about getting this book after trying to eat fewer sweets but WOW everything looks good, and you're right - Hannah is just the best. I should buy the book just to feel like we're hanging out together in my kitchen.Beyond the book, I LOVE the Monk mug (and the square cookies!) and I also always choke on powdered sugar but I certainly did used to love pfefferneuse.Wow, awesome. All around.

Wow, everything in this post looks amazing! I have yet to pick up this book, but I just ordered her new desserts book and I'm so excited for it! The cupcakes look awesome, and I really dig that Monk mug!

Oh goodness me.... I want to crawl into my screen and into your kitchen now please! And Pfeffernusse... I love these biscuits but haven't had any since I went vegetarian (they had gelatine), let alone vegan. Donuts... self frosting cupcakes... *argle*

This book sounds great! As soon as my cookbook buying ban is done (i.e. after I get back from the US), then I am putting it on the list!

I must suck at baking, because I totally screwed up those coffee shortbread bookies. BUt the Pfeffernusse were the first things I made from that cookbook, and HOLLA, I need to make them again. And again. After I make those cupcakes. Both kinds of those cupcakes.

Oh wow, where do I start? Ok, I know- You are far too kind! Thank you so much for your thorough review, I'm just thrilled that the recipes have been such a hit (and with your adorable, pup, too!)

I'm so impressed by you photos, too... You're making me want to revisit those scones, right now! It all looks incredible though. No wonder it took you some time to write this, I can just see all of the work that went into the post.

I've had Hannah's book for a few years now and you've just made me love it even more! Your photos are gorgeous and everything you made sounds spectacular. Love the look of that self-frosting cupcake!!

I hope Piggly Wiggly's identity is still protected--guffaw!!! You are hilarious.

And I think I'm a horrible correspondent--I never did tell you about my Teeccino (sp?)--the little packet of powder (and yum). Plus, I only now just clued in about your profile pic--River, you are stunning! Just look at the smile on you! Love it. (One day, we'll both get on a plane. . . ) ;) xo

Wow, you made me fall in love with My Sweet Vegan all over again! Those doughnuts - OMG! A family favorite (as is the cookbook). Too funny, I just posted our version of the canine cake last week. I haven't met a dog yet that doesn't love it. Your photos are lovely and drool-inspiring!

I have the My Sweet Vegan cookbook and I love it! I have made the Bananas Foster Cake, the Decadent Almond Cake, the Peanut Butter Scones which were so good and satisfying and the Crumb Topped Brownies which are the BEST brownies I have ever made! I would absolutely recommend this cookbook to anyone who wants to make great vegan sweets.